WINTER STORAGE

[midnite rider]

My Echo oil mix to add to the gas for the 2-cycle oil says it has a stabilizer in it. Does that mean I do not need to do anything with it?

Yes the stabilizer is porportioned for your gas mixture. No need to add more. :thumbsup:

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Yes the stabilizer is porportioned for your gas mixture. No need to add more. :thumbsup:

Good! So I don't really need to worry about the handheld equip./2-cycle oil. I am not worried about the normal gas for my mowers because we can use that really quickly so I am not worried about storing it over winter.

 

[vettman]

For winter storage I wholeheartedly agree with the advice given by user possum. Being a boat owner(bought a 1999 Sprint Fish n' Ski with a 125 Merc outboard new and has been garage kept ever since the purchase), before 10% Ethanol gas was forced down our throats by the EPA I ran nothing but Premium grade gasoline in everything I owned that was gasoline-powered(car, truck, boat, lawn/small engine equipment). Never used any stabilizer and NEVER had any fuel-related problems with anything stored over the winter(I just disconnected fuel lines and ran the boat & other small engine equipment until they ran out of gas to empty the lines and carbs). But things have CHANGED with the Ethanol(including engine design to accomodate 10%). When I replaced my 1993 Lawn Chief lawn tractor(16hp B & S Vanguard-best 4cycle engine I've ever owned) with a 2006 Craftsman(Husqvarna) with a 24hp B & S Intek and put Premium(w/Ethanol) gas in it the thing would barely run, backfired, hesitated and generally ran ragged. I switched to Regular grade and it ran MUCH better. IMHO, that had to be a "design change" by B & S between 1993 & 2006 to "accomodate" Ethanol. And as pointed out by user possum, the Owner Manual for my new Gravely has in bold print on the front cover "any gasoline with a greater than 10% Ethanol mixture will VOID THE WARRANTY". If that doesn't tell you that Ethanol is for all intents & purposes "bad for gasoline combustion engines" I don't know what does!!! The manual also "recommends" the use of stabilizers in the gas. So I, like many others, have become sensitive to protecting all of my gasoline powered equipment. For my car & truck I still use premium grade 10% Ethanol gas(the non-ethanol is cost prohibitive) and treat every other tankful with Lucas Ethanol treatment(BTW, I just replaced the electric fuel pump in my wife's 2001 Lincoln LS costing about $550...."requires" Premium and basically designed by Jaguar "pre-Ethanol" at that time) and had not used the Ethanol treatment since 10% Ethanol gas became predominent. For my boat, lawn equipment and all small engine equipment(especially my brand new Gravely) I run NOTHING but Regular grade non-Ethanol gasoline even though it is a LOT more expensive that the 10% Ethanol gas(and as of right now is still readily available in my area of Middle Tennessee). I will continue to do that as long as it is available and if the EPA shuts down the few "mom & pop markets" that carry it and force them to sell 10% Ethanol I will begin the Lucal Ethanol treatment additive in every tankful in that equipment. Have I told you how much I hate the EPA for mandating Ethanol in gasoline???? If there was a Preidential candidate that had a platform that stated he/she would make the EPA stop forcing Ethanol on us they would get my vote I don't care what party they represented!!!!! Anyway, as it stands I agree with user Possum & others that fuel stabilizers(and possibly Ethanol treatment additives) are all we can do to protect our investments!!!

Don't blame the EPA for this, blame the Ethanol lobbyists and the spineless congressmen that gave in to them. JMHO

 

[lakedriver]

With our gas getting worse, I use stabilizer to all my engines. I also put a storage oil in the cylinders. But a big thing I do is completely wash my units down and dry them. Mostly my mowers, as for wet grass sticks on top of the deck and causes premature rust. I also grease any and all grease fittings to make sure there is no moisture in them. I also make sure my battery has a full charge. I've worked hard to have the eguipment I have, so I don't mind going the extra mile to keep it in good order.

 

[Bomba]

Up until about 18 months ago I never ran anything out, never used fuel stabilizers, and kept two stroke mix all through the winter and used it up in the spring. I did not have many problems. But all of a sudden I had nothing but problems all fuel related. About that same time I discovered that many engine makers seem to consider anything carb related to be the fault of the gas you run and do not warranty their fuel systems very well and the newer they are the more picky they seem to be. I think it is going to be much worse over the next few years. So I became real religious about fuel stabilizers, fresh fuel, fuel containers, higher octane fuel, fuel without booze in it, and off season storage. i also began to talk to classic car owners, motorcycle folks, boaters, and neighbors. Some of the stuff they showed me was pretty amazing. A bottle of fuel stabilizer is pretty cheap. Honda engines are known to be expensive to repair. Many two stroke oils have stabilizers in the mix. If they were not a good idea then I do not think they would put them in the oil.


What is a good brand of fuel stabilizer to use?

 

[mcleod55]

I use STA-BIL in all my lawn equipment. It will keep your gas fresh up to a year. You can get it at the big box stores or Wal Mart.

 

[lakedriver]

I use STA-BIL also and it has worked very well for me. However, my neighbor uses Sea Foam and swears by it. I use Sea Foam in my car and truck and use it once in a while in other stuff. I think it more of a cleaner, but maybe I wrong.

 

[mowerman1999]

what i do for my equipment is for the mowers change the plug and air filter and put a bit of stabliser in the fuel and for my trimmer and leaf blower is just put some stabliser in them.

 

[danandbevsfarm]

I have a lot of 2-cycle oil/gas mix in a container. Would it still be good when I need it in April?

I worked as a lawn mower and chain saw mechanic for 4 years before retiring and the current thought on gasoline is this; store no gasoline for longer than 30 days UNLESS you use fuel stabilizer on 4 cycle gasoline and dispose of all 2 cycle gasoline after 30 days. The reasoning behind this is two-fold.
1. The alcohol gasoline additive is brutal on rubber components like fuel lines, carb diaphragms, gaskets, etc. And also fuel is hydroscopic, meaning it draws moisture from the air as well as the condensation that occurs in cold climates in a metal fuel tank or storage can that is vented to air.
2. 2 cycle fuel is particularly a problem because it turns to varnish over time. When old 2 cycle fuel is run in spring, if the engine runs at all, you find either a gelatinous material or a hard material within the carburetor, either at the inlet needle or the passageways within the carb which either restricts the flow or blocks the flow of fuel. That is one of the reasons a chainsaw, as an example, is hard to start in spring if fuel is left in the fuel system (the fresh gas has to dissolve the heavier gas first). Also, because of the small size of the piston/cylinder, ANY decomposition of the fuel will cause a drag or seizure of the piston to the cylinder. If you tore down the engine if you are an old 2 cycle-fuel user, you would find a brown/amber discoloration to the skirt of the piston and stuck rings . These deposits are the result of that little engine trying to burn "paint". Eventually the engine WILL seize if the bearings don't give out first. Imagine it this way, how long would you live if instead of water, you chose to drink muddy water; things would plug up without what you needed most-water. Your engine is the same way, it burns fuel, not paint. Burnt paint leaves a residue that gums up bearings, pistons, rings, etc.

Here's a pretty good way to prep/winterize your outdoor equipment if you want it to work FOR you in spring rather than AGAINST you.

HOW TO WINTERIZE YOUR TRACTOR OR LAWN MOWER

Mobile Sources, Winterizing Your Lawnmower | Region 5 | Air and Radiation Division | USEPA

I realize most of us don't trust the government for much but this last website is right on the mark, trust me!! (hah, hah) Dan

 

[mcleod55]

I use STA-BIL also and it has worked very well for me. However, my neighbor uses Sea Foam and swears by it. I use Sea Foam in my car and truck and use it once in a while in other stuff. I think it more of a cleaner, but maybe I wrong.

I found this link about Sea Foam
Sea Foam | Tech Info - Gas Engines

Gosh I hope I posted that link right.:confused2: